Gaganyaan Mission: PM Modi disclosed the names of 4 astronauts for the Gaganyaan mission

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has revealed the names of the four astronauts who will fly to low-Earth orbit (LEO) as part of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Gaganyaan. This mission will be the first crewed Indian space mission. The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi disclosed the names of four astronauts while visiting the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The four astronauts for the Gaganyaan mission are Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair, (Group Captain) Angad Prathap, Ajit Krishnan, and Shubanshu Shukla. These four persons have been selected as the astronauts on India’s first crewed mission to space.

What is the Gaganyaan Mission?

Gaganyaan Mission is India's first human space mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Through this mission, ISRO will send humans into space on a Low Earth Orbit of 400 km for 3 days and bring them safely back to Earth by 2024.

Gaganyaan Mission: Components

• The crew module (CM) and the service module (SM) together will form the orbital module.

• Crew Module: It is a habitable space with Earth-like environment in space for the crew and is designed for re-entry to ensure the safety of the crew during descent till touchdown.

• Service Module: It is an unpressurized structure that will be used for providing necessary support to CM while in orbit.

Gaganyaan Mission: Launch Vehicle

• The launch vehicle for Gaganyaan vehicle is Mark III (LVM3).

• LVM3 is the heaviest rocket of ISRO.

• It was earlier called Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk III).

• It consists of 3 stages i.e. Solid, liquid, and cryogenic stage.

Gaganyaan Mission: Other Feature

• ISRO signed an agreement with Russia's Glavkosmos to select and train Indian astronauts.

• The four astronauts trained at Russia’s Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in February 2020 till March 2021.

• The USA provides advanced training to the astronauts selected for the Gaganyaan.

• Astronaut training facility is established in Bengaluru.

• The second phase of India's first human space mission will involve the launch of Vyommitra, a female spacefaring half-humanoid robot that will function as a prototype for the Gaganyaan missions.

Gaganyaan Mission: Astronauts

• The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi disclosed the names of four astronauts while visiting the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

• The four astronauts for the Gaganyaan mission are Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair, (Group Captain) Angad Prathap, Ajit Krishnan, and Shubanshu Shukla.

• These four persons have been selected as the astronauts on India’s first crewed mission to space.

Gaganyaan Mission: Planned Test

Integrated Air Drop Tests:

Under this, it involves dropping a simulated crew module from an aircraft and deploying parachutes to slow down its descent and land safely in the sea.

Test Vehicle Missions:

Under this mission, it involves launching a single-stage liquid propulsion rocket, equipped with a crew module and a crew escape system.

Pad Abort Tests (PAT):

It is a test of a launch escape system.

It is designed to quickly get the crew and spacecraft away from the rocket in case of an emergency on the launch pad.

Uncrewed mission:

The purpose of this mission, is technology demonstration, safety and reliability verification, and studying the performance of systems before crewed flight.

Manned flight mission:

It carries human crew members who operate its control and perform various tasks.